Good Luck, Big Ticket - Target Center Won't Be The Same Without Ya

I knew this day would come eventually.

But now that it is finally here, it is unreal.

Kevin Garnett is no longer a part of the Minnesota Timberwolves organization. When Kevin retires, it will not be with the Minnesota Timberwolves. His jersey will never hang from the rafters of the Target Center.

I guess this makes me a Boston Celtics fan now.

Garnett is quite possibly my most favorite basketball player of all time. I actually respect him, which I can't say about a lot of pro athletes to be honest. Kevin Garnett is a guy who makes pro basketball classy - wearing suits and ties on the sidelines whenever he was injured, long before it was made mandatory by Commissioner Stern. That was unusual, especially for such a young guy at the time, especially in an age where guys like Allen Iverson looked like they were heading out to a club instead of watching their team play.

In the end, it's best for him. I feel much about Kevin the way I did about Cris Carter before he retired a few years ago - without a Superbowl ring. As one of my favorite players, I would much rather have seen him traded, gone somewhere that he stood chance of earning the ring he so deserved. And I want the same thing for Kevin. It's hard to believe he's been in the league since 1995, right out of high school. It's hard to believe the next time I see him playing, even though he's still the big 2-1, the colors of his jersey will be wrong.

Hopefully Boston will be able to do for him what Minnesota couldn't - surround him with the talent necessary to win the big one. Garnett could not do it all by himself in Minnesota, and while there were certainly times when he had talent to support him, it was never quite enough.

Please Boston, don't make the same mistake.